


Chocolat

by McKay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 00:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11002026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKay/pseuds/McKay
Summary: After the war, Severus wants to put everything behind him and start anew, but there's a part of his past he can't seem to leave behind.





	Chocolat

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2007. This story is based loosely on the film _Chocolat_ , so if you've seen that film and notice some similarities, that's why.

When Severus left England after the war and settled in a remote village in Tuscany,  
he expected to live a quiet, unassuming life. Quiet and unassuming would be  
a change from the tenor of his life to date, one he devoutly wished for, although  
technically, he was a fugitive due to his  
unauthorized flight. He had been pardoned, but he was still regarded with enough  
suspicion that a great many restrictions had been placed on him regarding his  
movement, his activities, his employment, and so on. In short, every aspect  
of his life was monitored to the point that he felt he was back in a prison,  
only this one had invisible walls.  
  
One night, he packed up what few things he had left after the Ministry had ransacked  
and confiscated, and he let the north wind lure him far away from the drab industrial  
town, his ramshackle house, and his narrow little life. He didn't care where  
he went or where he ended up; he just wanted to feel the wind at his back and  
breathe freely for the first time in decades.  
  
He would never be able to return. If he did, he would be arrested for violating  
the restrictions that had been placed upon him, but he didn't care. What did  
he have to return to? No family, no friends, no job, no lover. Not anymore.  
There were no ties that stretched thinner the farther away he flew, threatening  
to snap; on the contrary, he felt only the weight of old shackles being lifted  
at long last, and he didn't once look back.  
  
Buoyed by his new-found freedom, he didn't touch down for hours, and he only  
stayed on the ground long enough to attend to the demands of his body before  
lifting off again. By the time he grew tired of flying and wanted to remain  
on the ground for longer than a few hours, he was in Tuscany. He found a small  
wizarding village where no one had ever heard of Severus Snape or knew what  
he had done, and he decided it was there he would stay.  
  
Although all of his material possessions fit into a single carpetbag, the Ministry  
hadn't been able to touch his vault at Gringott's, and Severus had emptied it  
before he made his escape. For fifteen years, he had lived frugally and saved  
up his wages, and he possessed a sizable nest egg, one that would easily help  
him start a new life.  
  
He rented a shop with a flat above it, and he went to work, drawing the attention  
and interest of the villagers. They were curious, but they weren't shocked when  
they realized the strange dark man would be opening a confectionery - unlike  
those of Severus' acquaintance, who would have been stunned. But after everything  
he had been called upon to do, he wasn't certain he could look at brewing equipment  
for a while, if ever again. He needed a change. He liked sweets, and he was  
very good at making them; it wasn't that far removed from his old job, but it  
would yield far more pleasant results.  
  
It also allowed him room to experiment and to create. His cleverness at brewing  
potions had either been overlooked, dismissed, or manipulated, and his skills  
had never been properly appreciated, but no one could hide the pleasure they  
felt at tasting a brilliantly made piece of chocolate. He lay in bed and thought  
about different tastes, textures, and combinations he wanted to try, and he  
worked feverishly from morning until night to perfect his recipes until he was  
satisfied his efforts were ready to be revealed to the public.  
  
The decor of the shop was neither bright nor fanciful as one might expect a  
confectionery to be, but Severus didn't care. He paid homage to the origin of  
cacao by creating a quasi-Mayan decor and built a Mayan temple out of dark chocolate  
to display in the front window when he opened the shop at last. He didn't make  
or sell any kind of sweet but chocolate - but oh, what chocolate!  
  
There were moist chocolate cakes slathered in fruit. There were chocolates -  
dark, milk, and white - filled with creams of all different flavors from strawberry  
to vanilla to lemon and molded into various shapes, such as shells, flowers,  
or coins. There were slabs of chocolate mixed with crystallized ginger, lemon,  
orange, nuts, cinnamon, mint. The list of variations seemed endless. There was  
hot chocolate made with rich spices, even chile pepper. There were chocolate  
bars wrapped in gold paper. There were chocolate covered cherries and wedges  
of lemon and orange. And once a month, Severus made loaves of rich chocolate  
bread. He sold out of the loaves quickly, but he always set one aside to sell  
by the slice, and children came in with high hopes of being lucky enough to  
get one of those coveted slices, especially if their parents hadn't secured  
an entire loaf.  
  
During the day, the shop was quiet, and he spent his time sweeping the floors,  
tidying the shelves, or replenishing his supplies. Sometimes, a cluster of women  
stopped in for hot chocolate or cake when they finished their shopping, and  
they sat at a table to chatter while Severus stood behind his counter and listened,  
familiarizing himself with the people of the village, their gossip, and their  
language. He was a quick learner, picking up new words to expand his vocabulary  
every day, and it wasn't long before he was communicating with relative ease.  
  
Children came in after school, and he found them reasonably tolerable. They  
quickly learned he refused to sell chocolate to anyone who was too boisterous  
or too loud, and anyone who deliberately broke something or damaged a display  
would be banned from the shop for two weeks. Somehow, Mr. Snape knew  
when the offender's friends bought sweets to tide him or her over and extended  
the ban period accordingly. Accidents happened, of course, and he made allowances  
for that, but he would tolerate disruptiveness in his shop no more than he had  
tolerated disruptiveness in his classroom. Because of that, they didn't cause  
trouble, and they treated him with more respect and genuine good will than his  
students had, which made it easier for him to regard them with tolerance in  
return.  
  
In the evenings, couples young and old stopped in wanting dessert after a hearty  
dinner or to gaze into each other's eyes over a shared piece of torte. Severus  
wound up the Victrola and kept it playing softly, a pleasant backdrop for all  
the courting and digesting going on. He refused to play Big Band or Swing, however;  
there were too many memories of another time, another place, another softly  
playing Victrola for that. After the last customer wandered out, Severus locked  
the door, drew the curtain on the front window and the shade on the door, turned  
off the Victrola, and tidied up before going to the kitchen to spend a couple  
of hours replenishing his stock before bed.  
  
His life was indeed quiet and unassuming, and he adapted to the slow, easy rhythm  
of the village, gradually carving out a place for himself until people greeted  
him when they passed him on the street, and he was often invited to dinner,  
sometimes because the family that invited him had a single daughter they hoped  
to marry off. He didn't have the heart to tell them he had no interest in women,  
and the one man he had ever fancied was a lifetime away.  
  
_"If our friends find out, it'll be bad. Mine will  
make life as miserable for us as yours will," Severus said, but he didn't back  
up when Remus swayed closer._

 _"We'll be careful. No one will ever know. I'm  
good at keeping secrets." Warm lips brushed against his lightly, hesitantly.  
"Mmm... you taste better than chocolate..."_  
  
But mostly, he was invited because people liked the solemn man who made such  
delicious chocolates, and for Severus, that was a pleasantly novel experience  
indeed. He liked the village and the people in it, and he liked his new life.  
If he grew a little lonely in the evenings when he was alone in his little flat  
and the flames in the fireplace started to remind him of gleaming red-gold highlights  
in sun-kissed brown hair, well, it was a small price to pay for freedom and  
a place to belong.  
  
One day, the north wind began to blow again, and it blew someone else new into  
the village, someone Severus had never expected to see again. The bell over  
the door jangled when someone came stumbling in, brushing his hair out of his  
eyes, and Severus was shocked when he looked up to see Remus Lupin standing  
in the doorway, looking around with a faint smile.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he demanded,  
and Remus turned that smile on him.  
  
"I could ask the same of you." Remus pushed his hands into the pockets of a  
coat that had seen better days and ambled over to the counter where Severus  
stood. "This is the last place I expected to find you."  
  
"I didn't expect to be found at all," Severus replied frostily, donning armor  
he had been able to lay aside since arriving in the village. "Surely the Ministry  
wasn't so desperate to apprehend me that they sent the likes of you to track  
me down."  
  
"No, the Ministry decreed you were to be arrested if you ever returned, but  
they have bigger problems to deal with than trying to find one pardoned wizard  
who scarpered off." Remus slid onto one of the stools and glanced longingly  
at a display of mint creams covered in dark chocolate. "There are rogue bands  
of werewolves stirring up trouble, and not all of Voldemort's followers have  
been caught."  
  
"Is that why you are here?" Severus eyed him suspiciously. "To bring me back  
with promises of freedom if I help with the clean-up?"  
  
"No." Remus leaned over and studied the glass display case containing the cakes  
of the day. "How much for a slice with the raspberries on top?"  
  
"Free if you get out and don't come back."  
  
Remus smiled blandly. "I'll pay, thanks."  
  
Scowling, Severus served him a slice of cake and stepped back, putting some  
distance between them while Remus ate it with the kind of rapt ecstasy that  
wouldn't be out of place on the face of a religious fanatic. Severus folded  
his arms as he studied Remus, noting the changes. Although his clothes were  
still shabby, they weren't patched and threadbare, which Severus supposed meant  
he wasn't living at quite the same level of dire poverty as he had been when  
last they met. His wavy hair was longer and tied back in a ponytail, although  
a few tendrils had escaped and wafted in loose curls around his face. It was  
still shot with silver, although there were auburn highlights as well as if  
Remus had been spending a great deal of time in the sun. He still looked younger  
than his years despite the hardships he had endured, although there were little  
lines at the corners of his blue-green eyes when he smiled that enigmatic smile  
\- as he was doing now.  
  
"I never imagined you working in a confectionery," Remus said in a conversational  
tone.  
  
"I don't just work here." Severus drew himself up proudly. "I own this establishment."  
  
"Do you really?" Remus' eyebrows climbed to his hairline, and Severus felt a  
flash of satisfaction at having surprised him further.  
  
"My business is thriving. The villagers love what I make." He knew he sounded  
defensive, but Gryffindors always seemed to bring out that part of him, the  
scrawny boy made to feel like a freak for being clever and knowledgeable about  
Dark Arts. "I can always guess what someone's favorite kind of chocolate is."  
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could call them back;  
he didn't want to give Remus any excuse to mock him, and such boasting could  
easily be turned against him.  
  
"Really." Remus swiped up a few crumbs and a bit of icing on his finger and  
licked it clean while Severus tried not to notice. "If you can predict what  
strangers will like, I imagine it'll be easy to tell me what mine is."  
  
"Why should I?" Severus whisked the empty plate away. "I don't want you lingering  
any longer than necessary."  
  
"Well, we could make a wager." Remus leaned forward on his elbows, showing no  
signs of getting up and going away. "If you get it wrong, I get to come back  
and talk to you again. If you get it right, I'll leave you alone."  
  
"I'll know if you lie," Severus said, giving him a sharp look.  
  
"I know. That's why I won't lie." Remus tilted his head, his expression quizzical.  
"Do we have a bet?"  
  
Rather than answering, Severus swept his gaze around the shop, his mind racing  
as he tried to decide what Remus might like best. For all Remus' claims that  
it ought to be simpler than choosing for a stranger, it wasn't, and he found  
his talent for matching chocolate with customer failing him.  
  
He thought about what he knew of Remus. Quiet and unobtrusive. Not someone who  
would like spice, he thought, ruling out dark chocolate laced with chile pepper  
as a possibility straight-away. Remus probably preferred his chocolate to be  
as normal as possible, given he struggled to hide what he was and present a  
front of normality himself. Severus strode over to a display of bon-bons and  
selected a milk chocolate caramel cream molded in the shape of a star.  
  
"Here," he said, holding it out. "This is your favorite."  
  
Remus accepted the chocolate and popped it into his mouth in spite of having  
just eaten a whole slice of cake. He closed his eyes and chewed, his expression  
one of sublime pleasure, and Severus gloated, mentally complimenting himself  
for having chosen correctly.  
  
"It's very good," Remus said once he had swallowed. "The caramel is delightfully  
creamy." He offered Severus a rueful smile. "But it isn't my favorite."  
  
Severus stared at him, giving just a little push to see whether Remus was telling  
the truth, and from what Severus could ascertain, he was. Damn! He had been  
so certain!  
  
"Well, then." Remus' smile widened as he slid off the stool and headed for the  
door. "I'll be seeing you again."  
  
Severus watched him go, dismayed, and he was in a state of distraction for the  
rest of the day, wondering what the hell Remus was doing here and what ill it  
boded for himself. Was Remus here to collect some sort of debt? To exact revenge?  
To punish Severus? Why had he gone to all the trouble to track Severus down  
when he ought to be back in London making pink-haired babies with that idiot  
Auror who had thrown herself at him? That thought made him grimace, but he refused  
to call the slow burn in the pit of his stomach jealousy.  
  
It didn't help that the villagers were abuzz about the new arrival, and Severus  
overheard talk about Remus all day, everything up to and including speculation  
that he was a wandering gypsy. He was so agitated that he broke two dishes and  
threw away a perfectly good batch of fudge by mistake; only then did he decide  
he was too distracted to work, but sleep eluded him as well. He tossed and turned,  
hoping his peaceful life wasn't about to be disrupted. He liked it here, and  
he didn't want to be dragged away for any reason, especially not to go back  
where he was reviled and unwanted.  
  
Two days passed, and Severus began to relax, thinking perhaps Remus had gone  
away or at least had decided pestering Severus would do no good, but then the  
bell over the door jangled, and he looked up to see Remus walking in again,  
and he silently groaned.  
  
"I thought you'd gone," he said peevishly.  
  
Remus smiled as he shrugged out of his coat, revealing a thin blue jumper underneath,  
one scarcely sufficient to shield him from the chilly autumn air. "No such luck,  
I'm afraid," he said in a light, casual tone. He settled on a stool and watched  
Severus expectantly. "I'm far too curious about this new line of work of yours.  
Where did you learn to make chocolates?"  
  
"My mother was an excellent cook, and she loved sweets. The rest, I taught myself  
over the years." Severus busied himself with wiping down the counter, trying  
to avoid getting too close or making eye contact.  
  
"But why?" Remus persisted, folding his arms on the counter and resting his  
chin on them as he watched Severus putter around. "Why not open an apothecary  
or sell potions?"  
  
"Because I wanted a change." Severus whirled and fixed him with a fierce glare.  
"I wanted to be done with my old life and everything in it. I wanted to start  
anew with no reminders - and then you had  
to come along! What do you want, Lupin?"  
  
"To know what kind is your favorite," Remus  
replied, giving him a one-sided smile.  
  
Severus gaped at him, stunned into silence by the seeming non-sequiter. "Haven't  
you asked enough questions?"  
  
"Not when there is much more I wish to know."  
  
"Why?" Severus rounded on him, his scowl deepening. "I owe you nothing! You  
aren't even meant to be here!"  
  
"Oh?" Remus raised one eyebrow. "Where am I meant to be, then?"  
  
"With that girl. I expected you to be married by now."  
  
A dark cloud passed across Remus' face then, the first sign Severus had seen  
that he'd gotten under Remus' skin. "That was a mistake. It's over now." He  
shook himself and mustered a smile. "The truth is, I don't belong anywhere at  
the moment. I'm looking."  
  
"Look elsewhere," Severus replied gruffly, flapping his cloth in a shooing gesture.  
  
"This town isn't big enough for the two of us?" There was an undercurrent of  
amusement in Remus' voice that let Severus know there was a joke he didn't get  
in those words, but he refused to rise to the bait of mockery.  
  
"Something like that, yes," he snapped. "If you aren't here to arrest me or  
try to convince me I ought to return to help the Ministry or the Order, then  
I don't see why you are here at all." His heart lurched in his chest, feeling  
the first fluttering of hope, but he squelched it viciously.  
  
With a quiet sigh, Remus shook his head and seemed to become inordinately fascinated  
with a box of chocolate covered almonds on display. "I'm not here to arrest  
you or convince you of anything pertaining to the Ministry or the Order. I'm  
not here to cause trouble or disrupt your life. I just..." He shrugged and spread  
his hands. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."  
  
"There's a whole wide world out there, Lupin!" Severus flung out one arm, gesturing  
to the window where the sun shone down on the street beyond. "Get on with it!"  
  
"Not just yet," Remus murmured, but before Severus could protest, the door opened,  
and the bell jangled as a small group of children jostled their way in, chattering  
about homework, difficult lessons, and plans for the weekend.  
  
Severus was acutely aware of Remus' eyes on him as he poured hot chocolate,  
sliced cake, and doled out fudge, and he wondered what Remus would make of it  
when he saw the children greet Severus cheerfully rather than seeming afraid  
of him.  
  
"Will there be chocolate bread today?" one child asked, gazing up at him hopefully.  
  
"Not today," he said, shaking his head. "Soon, though."  
  
An explosion of cheers greeted that announcement in spite of his rule about  
excessive noise, but he excused it under the circumstances. A sidelong glance  
at Remus showed he was likely on the verge of asking a question, and Severus  
shot him an annoyed glare in hopes of silencing him, but to no avail.  
  
"Why are they so excited about chocolate bread?"  
  
Severus expressed his irritation with a series of huffs as he moved away from  
the counter and took out a small box, a remnant of his old life, and began preparing  
a special cup of hot chocolate. "I only make it once a month," he said, measuring  
out ingredients and stirring them into the steaming mug. "It's a rare treat."  
He looked at Remus reproachfully, as if he was having to explain something that  
ought to be obvious even to the biggest of dunderheads. "It's very good on its  
own with tea or with certain types of jam for sandwiches."  
  
He returned to the counter and handed over the mug of hot chocolate to a little  
girl who looked pale and small for her age. She accepted it with a smile and  
handed over the usual fee for hot chocolate even though Severus had added extra  
ingredients that were not inexpensive.  
  
"She's ill?" Remus watched the girl join her friends at a table, swinging her  
legs and chatting gaily as she sipped her drink.  
  
"The sickly sort. The kind of obnoxious child that is constantly wiping its  
nose and coughing. I don't want her contaminating my wares." He paused, looking  
at her and seeing not a girl with dishwater blonde pigtails but a boy with lank  
dark hair and perpetual allergies instead.  
  
"Once a guardian, always a guardian," Remus murmured.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing." Remus' smile was bland, but while Severus wasn't fooled, he didn't  
press the issue either.  
  
The children were caught up in their own conversation and ignoring the two adults,  
but Severus didn't want to risk drawing unwanted attention by shouting at Remus  
to get out of his shop. Instead, he busied himself with little chores in hopes  
that Remus would grow bored and leave on his own, but he had only washed a couple  
of dishes before he heard Remus clearing his throat.  
  
"What now?" He shot a glare over his shoulder, his tone clipped.  
  
"You haven't taken my order." Remus looked at him with wide, innocent eyes.  
  
"Fine." Severus threw his drying cloth down and whirled to face Remus, his fists  
braced on his hips. "What do you want?"  
  
He thought he heard the words _chocolate covered  
Snape_ and nearly choked. "What?!"  
  
"I said 'chocolate caramel cake'." Remus blinked innocently again. "That's what  
you have over there, isn't it?" he asked, pointing to a covered glass cake plate  
further down the counter.  
  
"Right." Severus cleared his throat and drew himself upright. "Right. Chocolate  
caramel cake."  
  
He served up a slice and moved away again, and Remus ate in silence, although  
Severus could feel the weight of his gaze again. He didn't know why he was so  
aware of Remus and why that awareness made  
him want to shiver, although not in fear. He wasn't afraid of Remus. He had  
been furious - and hurt, his heart reminded  
him, but he ignored it - when Black tricked him into visiting the Shrieking  
Shack, and he had been frightened and shocked in the moment of confrontation  
itself, but he had also been fascinated despite himself. Dark Arts, Dark Creatures  
\- they drew him like a moth to the flame, perhaps because he was touched by  
darkness himself. And there was something about the feral glint he had seen  
in Remus' eyes sometimes, something wild and dangerous...  
  
He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. The sooner Remus was gone, the better,  
and then Severus could settle back into his nice, quiet, unassuming (boring)  
life again.  
  
"You haven't guessed yet today."  
  
Remus' soft, husky voice broke through his reverie, and he scowled with annoyance.  
"What?"  
  
"My favorite kind of chocolate," Remus repeated patiently. "You haven't guessed  
yet."  
  
"Fine." Severus looked around the shop again, trying to decide what to offer  
this time. Last time, he had chosen based on how Remus was as a young man -  
always trying to keep his head down and his Gryffindor friends happy, no matter  
what the cost. But there had been something of the prankster in him too, and  
when they met years later, Severus had noted that Remus was still calm and polite,  
but there was a core of steel in him that hadn't been visible when he was young.  
  
With a decisive nod, he fetched a tray of dark chocolate truffles rolled in  
cinnamon. "Here. This is your favorite," he said.  
  
Remus picked one up between his thumb and forefinger and took a bite. "Mmmm...."  
He finished off the rest of it, smiling. "Delicious!" But before Severus could  
declare victory, he shook his head regretfully. "But it isn't my favorite."  
  
With that, he departed, and Severus watched him go, wondering if he would get  
it right before he ran out of sweets or if he was doomed to be haunted by Remus  
Lupin for the rest of his life.  
  
The next time Severus saw him was not at the shop but at a wedding. Severus  
had been hired to make the wedding cake and sweets for the reception, and because  
the bride and her mother had been so thrilled by the cake when they had come  
by to taste-test it, they had insisted that he attend the reception as a guest.  
At first, he had demurred. Wedding receptions weren't high on his list of preferred  
social events to attend, but in the end, he had accepted on the grounds that  
it would give him a chance to expand his business. If out-of-town guests were  
impressed by his cake, he might gain customers from beyond the village.  
  
Besides that, there would be food and wine and tolerable company. Severus was  
no social butterfly even now that he was away from the burdens he'd carried  
during both wars, but he enjoyed intelligent conversation, and there were several  
older witches and wizards in the village from whom he knew he could learn a  
great deal about various branches of magic that weren't studied at Hogwarts.  
Rural magic had its strengths and benefits as well, and he was always eager  
to amass more knowledge.  
  
What he didn't expect was to find Remus in attendance, surrounded by a bevy  
of women while he played a slow, haunting tune on guitar. Severus had been lured  
by the sound of the music, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the  
player, and he wanted to whirl and stalk away, putting as much distance between  
himself and Remus as possible, but he found himself mesmerized by the movement  
of Remus' slender fingers on the strings. Remus bent his head over the instrument,  
seeming utterly absorbed in the music, and he tapped one foot in time with the  
beat as he played on, oblivious to the sighs and giggles around him.  
  
The strange spell that kept Severus captive ended as soon as the music did,  
and he shook himself, feeling as if he were emerging from a dream, but he couldn't  
make his escape before Remus glanced up and saw him, greeting him with a smile.  
  
"I was invited," Remus said as soon as the gaggle of women surrounding him dispersed,  
as if to forestall what he knew would be Severus' first question. "I was told  
no one ought to be alone on a wedding day."  
  
"What are you doing with that?" Severus demanded, pointing at the guitar.  
  
"I borrowed it." Remus rose to his feet and approached slowly. "Several people  
brought instruments for later. There won't be a band, just guests playing."  
  
"I didn't know you played anything at all."  
  
"There's a great deal you don't know about me, just as there's a great deal  
I don't know about you."  
  
"That isn't my fault," Severus replied,  
not bothering to keep the anger out of his voice. "You have only yourself and  
your friends to blame."  
  
"I know. But it's all so far behind us, Severus. There isn't anything stopping  
us from making a fresh start."  
  
Whatever Severus might have said in response to that was interrupted when a  
short, dusky-skinned man came up to Remus to collect his guitar, which Remus  
handed over with a smile and softly-spoken thanks. Then he turned his attention  
back to Severus, moving closer.  
  
"Did you like it?" he asked, a hopeful lilt in his voice.  
  
"It was passable," Severus said grudgingly, forcing himself to stand his ground  
and not take a step or two backward when Remus moved into his personal space.  
  
Remus laughed quietly. "From you, that's a great compliment. The song I was  
playing... It reminds me of you a bit. It's a lonely song." Reaching out, he  
skimmed his fingertips along Severus' arm, and a shiver rippled down Severus'  
spine at the touch, light as it was. "Why are you  
here?"  
  
"I made the wedding cake." Severus' voice sounded rough even to his own ears.  
  
"It's lovely work, but you didn't need to be here to oversee the eating of it."  
Remus closed his fingers around Severus' bony wrist, and Severus silently insisted  
the only reason he didn't yank his arm out of Remus' grasp was that he didn't  
want to cause a scene and ruin the reception. "Whatever the case, I'm glad you're  
here."  
  
With that, Remus released him and walked away, leaving Severus unsettled and  
uncertain, and he didn't like that feeling in the least. For the next couple  
of hours, he only caught glimpses of Remus through the crowd. Not  
because he was looking, of course, but because it was inevitable that he should  
see Remus when the village hall wasn't that big. For once, he didn't need to  
refrain from drinking because there were randy adolescents to keep watch over  
or because dulled wits led to a loosened tongue, which could be deadly. He was  
safe now, and if he wanted to have some wine, he damned well could.  
  
And he did. By the time the dancing began, he was quite relaxed indeed. Not  
relaxed enough to let himself be coaxed onto the dance floor, but enough to  
sit back and enjoy the impromptu ensemble that had formed. Thus when Remus sat  
down in the chair beside him, he didn't scowl or scoot his chair away; he was  
mellowed enough by the wine, the music, and the encroaching twilight to tolerate  
Remus' presence so close by.  
  
"Having a good time?" Remus asked, glancing sidelong at him.  
  
"I haven't left yet, so I suppose I must be," Severus replied, although there  
was little heat or vitriol in his words.  
  
"Yes, there is that." Remus chuckled warmly.  
  
Severus nodded in the direction of the musicians. "Why aren't you playing with  
them?"  
  
"I'm not that good," Remus said with a bashful smile and shrug. "I'm only a  
dabbler, and I've never played in a group before. I doubt I could keep up."  
  
"And you lack your own guitar."  
  
"That too."  
  
They sat in silence that Severus thought might almost be companionable for a  
while, and Severus felt even more heavy-limbed as the wine infused his blood,  
pushing him to the edge of intoxication. "I like dark chocolate," he said at  
last, and Remus gave him a startled look.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You asked," Severus said in the most patient tone he could muster. "My favorite  
is dark chocolate. The kind that's almost bitter. Nothing in it, just pure chocolate."  
  
Remus gazed at him steadily for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, that makes sense."  
  
"I'll wager you like something like that," Severus continued, pointing to the  
table where a tray of strawberry cream sweets remained. The cream filling was  
light and frothy, and it was covered with white chocolate and decorated with  
crystallized violets. It was an excessively cloying sweet in his opinion, but  
it had been what the bride wanted. "All pink and sweet and light. Nothing dark  
about it."  
  
"No, I don't want anything like that." Remus' expression turned somber. "It  
wouldn't suit me at all."  
  
"No?" Severus turned his head so he could look at Remus, who leaned closer until  
Severus could feel Remus' breath warm against his cheek.  
  
"No. I want something that will taste rich and dark on my palate."  
  
Severus shivered, wondering in the back of his mind if they were really talking  
about sweets anymore. He gazed into Remus' eyes, captivated by the gleam in  
the blue-green depths, and he felt inexplicably as if he were being drawn deeper  
and deeper until he was drowning.  
  
"Why did you leave?" he whispered.  
  
"I told you." Remus' voice was velvety and rich like the dark chocolate Severus  
desired above all other sweets. "I'm looking for somewhere to belong."  
  
"Why did you come here?"  
  
"I was looking for you."  
  
"You found me."  
  
A hint of a smile quirked Remus' lips. "So I did."  
  
"Now what?" Severus watched his face intently, wanting to know the answer but  
fearing it as well.  
  
"That's entirely up to you." Remus touched Severus' arm again, a light and hesitant  
touch that could be pulled away in an instant. "What do you want from me? A  
pound of flesh? Another apology?"  
  
_"I'm sorry, Severus. I should have told you. I  
know that, but I was afraid. I didn't want to lose you-"  
  
"You lost anyway! You didn't trust me, and you  
almost got me killed! Stay away from me, werewolf!" _  
  
"I don't want anything from you," he murmured, turning his gaze toward the musicians,  
although he wasn't really seeing them. "I want peace. I want peace and freedom."  
  
"It seems as if you've found them," Remus said, moving his fingers in a stroking  
motion on Severus' arm.  
  
"Not if you come blundering along and take them away."  
  
"Severus, I told you. I'm not here on behalf of the Ministry or the Order."  
Remus' fingers tightening on his arm, and Remus gave him an imploring look as  
though willing Severus to believe him.  
  
"That isn't what I meant."  
  
"Oh." Remus glanced away and let his hand fall from Severus' arm, and he twined  
his fingers in his own lap. "I don't mean to disrupt your life. You've had quite  
enough of that already. If there's no hope..." He drew in a deep breath and  
let it out slowly before fixing Severus with a carefully neutral gaze. "If you  
want me to go, I will."  
  
Severus stared at him, willing himself to speak the scathing words that would  
drive Remus away forever. A few choice words, and he could be certain he would  
never see Remus Lupin again. He would have peace and quiet, and there would  
be no werewolves with captivating eyes, enigmatic smiles, and long, slender  
fingers to plague him ever again.  
  
But Severus Snape was no coward, and taking risks was something he was long  
accustomed to doing.  
  
"Don't be stupid," he said derisively. "I haven't figured out what your favorite  
kind of chocolate is yet."  
  
That enigmatic smile bloomed on Remus' lips, and this time, there was a feral  
tilt to it that made Severus' toes curl. "Would you care to take another guess?"  
  
"Tomorrow," Severus said with an imperious tilt of his chin. "I believe I have  
figured it out, and I will be prepared to make my final, correct guess tomorrow."  
  
"I look forward to seeing if you have it right." Remus rose to his feet, giving  
Severus a questioning look. "In the meantime, may I walk you home?"  
  
"I'm perfectly safe here, Lupin," Severus said even as he stood as well, wavering  
a little once he was upright.  
  
"I'm not concerned about your safety."  
  
"Not even from big bad wolves?" Severus must have crossed the line between relaxed  
and tipsy while he wasn't paying attention for those words to escape him, but  
rather than being offended, Remus laughed.  
  
"As to that, I can make no promises." Grasping Severus' elbow, Remus steered  
him toward the door, and once they were out of the village hall and away from  
the prying eyes of Severus' neighbors, he slid his hand down to twine his fingers  
with Severus' as they walked along the cobblestone street, headed back to the  
confectionery.  
  
The village was quiet; most residents were at the wedding reception, and those  
who weren't were snug inside, not paying attention to what was going on outside  
the walls of their home. Severus thought that if they were different people  
under different circumstances, it might have been a romantic moment. They had  
just come from a celebration of love and commitment and were now wandering hand  
in hand with street lamps illuminating their path; for anyone other than Severus  
Snape, it would have been a prelude to romance.  
  
But when they stopped outside his door and Remus cupped his chin in one hand  
and brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, he realized even he could  
have romantic moments like any other normal person. Granted, there was little  
normality about a romance between a murderer and a werewolf, but it was close  
to normal, and Severus would take what he could get.  
  
"Tomorrow," Remus murmured against his skin, and Severus nodded, letting Remus  
steal another brief kiss before unlocking the door and slipping inside.  
  
He went straight to bed, and whether it was due to the alcohol or the kisses,  
he wasn't certain, but he enjoyed a deeper, sounder night's sleep than he could  
remember having in years. When he awoke the next morning, he found himself anticipating  
the day to come, which was entirely new and unheard of. He had faced many days  
with dread and trepidation, and he had been apathetic to countless more, but  
he couldn't recall the last time he had looked forward to anything like he was  
looking forward to Remus' arrival.  
  
His heart beat faster every time the bell over the door jangled, and he snapped  
his head around to see who was walking in, but each time, he was disappointed.  
The morning passed at a glacial pace, and Remus did not come. The afternoon  
seemed interminable, and still Remus did not come. By the time the sun began  
to sink below the horizon and people trickled in for their after-dinner treats,  
Severus had given up. Remus had got cold feet or perhaps this had been nothing  
more than a trick, a way to punish Severus that Remus knew would hurt most.  
He was hardly a stranger to the sting of rejection, but this time seemed to  
pierce more deeply, and he grew silent and moody, imagining all the myriad ways  
he would enact revenge if Remus Lupin ever dared darken his doorstep again.  
  
At last, it was time to close up shop, but before he began his nightly ritual  
of drawing the curtains and locking up, the bell jangled one last time. He whirled,  
intending to give whoever-it-was a piece of his mind for coming in when he was  
about to close up, but the words shriveled and died on his lips when he saw  
Remus standing there, smiling warmly.  
  
"Sorry I'm late." Remus closed and locked the door behind himself. "I didn't  
want to come when other customers might interrupt us."  
  
"Oh?" Not quite willing to let Remus off the hook yet, Severus folded his arms  
and peered down the length of his nose at Remus.  
  
"Mm-hhm." Remus prowled toward Severus with a predatory roll in his gait and  
a feral gleam in his eyes that made Severus' knees go wobbly, but he stood firm.  
"Because then I couldn't do this." Framing Severus' face between his hands,  
Remus drew him down into a deep, hungry kiss, slipping his tongue past Severus'  
lips and claiming his mouth thoroughly until Severus relented with a moan and  
wound his arms around Remus, drawing him closer. "That might not be good for  
business," Remus said when they broke apart for air at last, his eyes glittering  
with mischief - and desire.  
  
"Perhaps not," Severus conceded. "But I do not like to be kept waiting."  
  
"I'll make it up to you." Remus stepped back and drew an X over his heart. "But  
in the meantime, I believe you said you had figured out what my favorite kind  
of chocolate is?"  
  
"I have indeed."  
  
Severus moved behind the counter and retrieved a small plate, and then he fetched  
a bar of plain dark chocolate, opened it, and broke off a piece while Remus  
watched, silent but obviously curious. Drawing his wand, Severus warmed the  
plate until the chocolate melted and grew soft. With a triumphant little smirk,  
he tucked his wand away again and carried the plate back to Remus.  
  
"I thought plain dark chocolate was your favorite," Remus said, tilting his  
head quizzically.  
  
"It is, but I am not finished yet." Swirling his forefinger in the melted chocolate,  
he coated it and lifted it to smear the chocolate on his cheek, and then he  
leaned over, presenting his cheek to Remus.  
  
Remus blinked, and then he burst out laughing, a sound of pure happy delight.  
"Genius," he declared, leaning forward to swipe his tongue along Severus' cheek.  
"Mmm... and delicious as well. You're right," he said, smiling widely. "Chocolate  
covered Snape is indeed my favorite."  
  
"I knew I would get it right," Severus said, feeling triumphant for more reasons  
than one.  
  
Remus' smile turned fond as he slid one arm around Severus and drew him down  
for another kiss, this one slow and deep, filled with affection. "I'd say we  
both finally got it right in the end," he murmured against Severus' lips.  
  
About damned time, Severus thought as he  
let himself be led upstairs to his flat, where he had no doubt they would satisfy  
their long-denied appetites for something far better than mere sweets.


End file.
